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melodysparksCASTLES
I love castles, not only for the archetecture but for the history.
Nottingham Castle
Coming from a city that is famous for its castle although what you see today is not the castle of note, I have always wondered what Nottingham Castle would have looked like prior to the English Civil War.
Unfortunately for Nottingham, it's castle was coveted by Oliver Cromwell and other members of the Parlimentarian chiefs that the parliament decided that after the execution of Charles I in 1649, the castle was razed to prevent its re-use as the building had become iconic.
The first Nottingham Castle was built in 1067 on instruction from William the Conquorer by William Peverel as wooden structure and of a motte-and-bailey design. However instead of the earth mound found in many Motte-and-bailey castles, Nottingham was blessed with a natural promontory known as 'Castle Rock', with cliffs 130 feet (40 m) high to the south and west of natural Bunter sandstone formed over 230 million years ago. This wooden structure was replaced years later during the reing of Henry II with stone.
For centuries the castle served as one of the most important in England being also a Royal Palace and residence often used for holding court by the reigning monarch. Defencably the castle was virtually impregnable with its high walls and the natural rock beneath. The walls surrounding the castle still remain from those years and standing beneath them you have to wonder at the sheer size of the original building and the ability to hold fast against seige.
Newark Castle - Newark On Trent, Nottinghamshire
Rising majestically above the River Trent at Newark in Nottinghamshire is Newark Castle known as the Key of the North due to its position and great strength only 20 miles down River from Nottingham. It was founded by during the reign of Egbert (802 – 839) of the West Saxons. The Castle was extended over the years especially after the Norman Conquest and was consecrated by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1123 who established it as a mint.
As a royal castle it was home to King John who died there in 1216 but by the time of Edward III was used as a prision.
During the English Civil War it became a garrison for Charles I and his Royalist forces along with the town being fortified who held this loyal town of In Nottinghamshire during the latter years of the war. After endring 3 seiges it eventually surrended at the end of the war to Cromwell’s forces who systamatically began demolition and dismantling of the castle as they did with its sister 20 miles away in Nottingham on the orders of Oliver Cromwell.
Today all that remains of the original Norman castle are the Gate-house, a south west tower, a crypt and a single long curtain wall still with decorative windows, garderobe holes and crenalations. The walls show the pitted marks of war and seige where cannon balls and musket fire marred the stout walls.
Bolsover Castle - Bolsover, Derbyshire
Bolsover occupies the hilltop site of a medieval fortress built by the Peverel family, the same family as the original builder of Nottingham castle.
The wealthy Sir Charles Cavendish - who already owned several other great mansions, including one only a few miles away bought the old fortress in 1612 and began work on his Little Castle project. His son William - playboy, poet, courtier and later Civil War Royalist general and first Duke of Newcastle - inherited the Little Castle in 1617 and set about its completion, assisted by the architect John Smythson. John Smythson's father Robert was a celebrated archetect having designed and built Nottingham's Wollaton Hall for the Willoughby family (Wollaton Hall will be seen later this year at the movies as the building was chosen to be the new Wayne Manor in Batman)and Hardwick Hall for Bess of Hardwick who was the mother of Sir Charles Cavendish.
What resulted was a kind of toy keep housing tiers of luxurious staterooms. The exquisitely carved fireplaces, and richly-coloured murals and panelling of its miraculously preserved and beautifully restored interiors still take the visitor on an allegorical journey from earthly concerns to heavenly (and erotic) delights.
William also added the vast and stately Terrace Range overlooking the Vale of Scarsdale, now a dramatic roofless shell. To show off his achievement, in 1634 he invited King Charles I and his court to Love's Welcome to Bolsover, a masque specially written by Ben Jonson for performance in the Fountain Garden. Finally he constructed the cavernous Riding House with its magnificent roof and viewing galleries, among the finest surviving indoor riding schools in the country and a landmark in British equestrianism: here he indulged his passion for training great horses in stately dressage.
Tutbury Castle - Tutbury, Staffordshire
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building.
Tutbury Castle became the headquarters of Henry de Ferrers and was the centre of the wapentake of Appletree, which included Duffield Frith. With his wife Bertha, he endowed Tutbury Priory with two manors in about 1080. It would seem that Tutbury at that time was a dependency of the Norman abbey of St Pierre‑sur‑Dives.
The castle was destroyed by Prince Edward in 1264 after the rebellion of Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby. In 1269, after a further rebellion the lands were given to Edmund Crouchback and have remained part of the Duchy of Lancaster
Tutbury Castle is said to be haunted by many ghosts. There is the ghost of a soldier seen wandering the parapets and also the ghost of the white lady who appears in the window of the Tower.
Apart from the 12th century chapel the ruins date from the 14th and 15th centuries when the castle was rebuilt. Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in the castle in the 16th century. Mary came to Tutbury on 3 February 1569. From there, she complained of the damp, wet plaster, and draughty ill-fitting old carpentry.
So these are a few of the castles I have visited over the last couple of years. I hope to do a more in depth narrative sometime in the future of each of the castles here.
Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of some of the castles of the East Midlands
I love castles, not only for the archetecture but for the history.
Nottingham Castle
Coming from a city that is famous for its castle although what you see today is not the castle of note, I have always wondered what Nottingham Castle would have looked like prior to the English Civil War.
Unfortunately for Nottingham, it's castle was coveted by Oliver Cromwell and other members of the Parlimentarian chiefs that the parliament decided that after the execution of Charles I in 1649, the castle was razed to prevent its re-use as the building had become iconic.
The first Nottingham Castle was built in 1067 on instruction from William the Conquorer by William Peverel as wooden structure and of a motte-and-bailey design. However instead of the earth mound found in many Motte-and-bailey castles, Nottingham was blessed with a natural promontory known as 'Castle Rock', with cliffs 130 feet (40 m) high to the south and west of natural Bunter sandstone formed over 230 million years ago. This wooden structure was replaced years later during the reing of Henry II with stone.
For centuries the castle served as one of the most important in England being also a Royal Palace and residence often used for holding court by the reigning monarch. Defencably the castle was virtually impregnable with its high walls and the natural rock beneath. The walls surrounding the castle still remain from those years and standing beneath them you have to wonder at the sheer size of the original building and the ability to hold fast against seige.
Newark Castle - Newark On Trent, Nottinghamshire
Rising majestically above the River Trent at Newark in Nottinghamshire is Newark Castle known as the Key of the North due to its position and great strength only 20 miles down River from Nottingham. It was founded by during the reign of Egbert (802 – 839) of the West Saxons. The Castle was extended over the years especially after the Norman Conquest and was consecrated by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1123 who established it as a mint.
As a royal castle it was home to King John who died there in 1216 but by the time of Edward III was used as a prision.
During the English Civil War it became a garrison for Charles I and his Royalist forces along with the town being fortified who held this loyal town of In Nottinghamshire during the latter years of the war. After endring 3 seiges it eventually surrended at the end of the war to Cromwell’s forces who systamatically began demolition and dismantling of the castle as they did with its sister 20 miles away in Nottingham on the orders of Oliver Cromwell.
Today all that remains of the original Norman castle are the Gate-house, a south west tower, a crypt and a single long curtain wall still with decorative windows, garderobe holes and crenalations. The walls show the pitted marks of war and seige where cannon balls and musket fire marred the stout walls.
Bolsover Castle - Bolsover, Derbyshire
Bolsover occupies the hilltop site of a medieval fortress built by the Peverel family, the same family as the original builder of Nottingham castle.
The wealthy Sir Charles Cavendish - who already owned several other great mansions, including one only a few miles away bought the old fortress in 1612 and began work on his Little Castle project. His son William - playboy, poet, courtier and later Civil War Royalist general and first Duke of Newcastle - inherited the Little Castle in 1617 and set about its completion, assisted by the architect John Smythson. John Smythson's father Robert was a celebrated archetect having designed and built Nottingham's Wollaton Hall for the Willoughby family (Wollaton Hall will be seen later this year at the movies as the building was chosen to be the new Wayne Manor in Batman)and Hardwick Hall for Bess of Hardwick who was the mother of Sir Charles Cavendish.
What resulted was a kind of toy keep housing tiers of luxurious staterooms. The exquisitely carved fireplaces, and richly-coloured murals and panelling of its miraculously preserved and beautifully restored interiors still take the visitor on an allegorical journey from earthly concerns to heavenly (and erotic) delights.
William also added the vast and stately Terrace Range overlooking the Vale of Scarsdale, now a dramatic roofless shell. To show off his achievement, in 1634 he invited King Charles I and his court to Love's Welcome to Bolsover, a masque specially written by Ben Jonson for performance in the Fountain Garden. Finally he constructed the cavernous Riding House with its magnificent roof and viewing galleries, among the finest surviving indoor riding schools in the country and a landmark in British equestrianism: here he indulged his passion for training great horses in stately dressage.
Tutbury Castle - Tutbury, Staffordshire
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building.
Tutbury Castle became the headquarters of Henry de Ferrers and was the centre of the wapentake of Appletree, which included Duffield Frith. With his wife Bertha, he endowed Tutbury Priory with two manors in about 1080. It would seem that Tutbury at that time was a dependency of the Norman abbey of St Pierre‑sur‑Dives.
The castle was destroyed by Prince Edward in 1264 after the rebellion of Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby. In 1269, after a further rebellion the lands were given to Edmund Crouchback and have remained part of the Duchy of Lancaster
Tutbury Castle is said to be haunted by many ghosts. There is the ghost of a soldier seen wandering the parapets and also the ghost of the white lady who appears in the window of the Tower.
Apart from the 12th century chapel the ruins date from the 14th and 15th centuries when the castle was rebuilt. Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in the castle in the 16th century. Mary came to Tutbury on 3 February 1569. From there, she complained of the damp, wet plaster, and draughty ill-fitting old carpentry.
So these are a few of the castles I have visited over the last couple of years. I hope to do a more in depth narrative sometime in the future of each of the castles here.
Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of some of the castles of the East Midlands
